Next Gen ATP Finals: Basavareddy earns first win on tour with comeback effort against Shang
The 19-year-old American defeated Shang Juncheng in four sets on Thursday in Jeddah to keep his semi-final hopes alive
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Nishesh Basavareddy from the US defeated Shang Juncheng, the world No 50 from China, 3-4 (4), 4-2, 4-2, 4-1 in the opening match of the second day at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Basavareddy needed only an hour, 38 minutes to down Shang, who struggled with his health during the battle, on Thursday to climb to the top of Red Group and keep his semi-final hopes alive despite losing his opener against compatriot Alex Michelsen.
“I’m just super excited, playing in this stadium is a dream come true,” said Basavareddy, who notched up his first tour-level win, after the match. “In such a big event like this, in front of all these fans, I’m just enjoying every moment of it.
“I never expected to be here this year, it’s been a lot of good results and a lot of hard work that’s led to this, so I am super happy. I just wanted to be a little bit more positive today, and more clutch, and I think I did that.”
A first tour-level win!
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) December 19, 2024
Former junior World No. 3 Nishesh Basavareddy beats Jerry Shang for a memorable career milestone 👏#NextGenATPFinals pic.twitter.com/zv9vxw0XMW
Set 1: Shang edges out
The opening set saw the first slip-up from Basavareddy, who somehow avoided a break to love in the third game but Shang capitalised on the second time asking. Playing to stay alive in the set, the American broke back in the sixth game and forced a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker witnessed gripping action as the Chinese created a 3-0 lead but his opponent recovered to level the score at 4-4. Shang, however, claimed the following three points to claim the set.
Basavareddy smashed five aces to Shang’s three but also sprayed 15 unforced errors against the latter six to concede a lead.
Set 2: Basavareddy fights back
In the second set, the two players remained unbroken until Basavareddy landed a critical blow in the dying moments after saving two break points on his serve in the fourth. He broke Shang in the fifth game and served it out in the following game to level the proceedings.
In terms of stats, the world No 138 reduced his unforced errors to seven but the Chinese’ tally rose to 11.
Furthermore, Shang landed his first serve 78 percent of all attempts against the American’s 61 percent but the latter fared well in winning the first and second serve points, averaging 82 percent and 43 percent, respectively, to the former’s 71 percent and 25 percent.
Set 3: The American takes control
Basavareddy came out in the third set with an attacking mindset. He broke Shang’s serve in the very first game to lead the proceedings for the first time in the match.
The remaining games of the set saw no break points, seeing the American save two break points in the final game.
He recorded five aces, 81 percent of first-serve landings, and 77 percent average on first-serve points in comparison to Shang’s underwhelming zero, 56 percent, and 40 percent, resepctively.
Set 4: Basavareddy completed the comeback
The fourth set opened on a similar note to the third as Basavareddy secured a break on Shang’s serve in the first game.
The two competitors then remained unbroken until the 19-year-old from the US converted a match point after his opponent saved three.
The Chinese’ serving broke down completely as he managed to land in only 30 percent of his first serves and committed a double fault adding to seven unforced errors, allowing Basavareddy to complete the comeback.
